| Bindi the Jungle Girl | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Presented by | Bindi Irwin |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Mark McDuff |
| Country of origin | Australia United States[1] |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 33 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Cinematography | Craig Lucas |
| Running time | 22 minutes approx |
| Production company | The Best Picture Show Company |
| Original release | |
| Network | Discovery Kids (America) ABC for Kids (Australia) |
| Release | 9 June 2007 – 20 December 2008 |
Bindi the Jungle Girl is a children's television nature documentary series, presented by Bindi Irwin, the daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin. The series was produced and shot in Queensland by The Best Picture Show Company for Discovery Kids and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The series aired from 9 June 2007 until 20 December 2008 on American networks Discovery Kids and simulcast on Animal Planet and on ABC1 in Australia from 18 July 2007.
The series also features Bindi's mother Terri, her younger brother Robert, and Steve Irwin's "best mate" and director of Australia Zoo, Wes Mannion. Bindi performs songs and dances with a group called the Crocmen, and answers questions from viewers in the "Bindi's Blog" segment.
Steve Irwin appeared in several episodes filmed prior to his death in 2006. The second series was produced after his death, but he appears in archive footage in a segment named "Croc Hunter Unplugged", generally spoken of transcendentally in the present tense.[2]
Plot
Bindi Sue Irwin and her late father, "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, try to spread the idea of conservation by teaching the world about many different types of animals and explain why they are important.
Cast
- Bindi Irwin as herself
- Terri Irwin as herself
- Robert Irwin as himself
- Steve Irwin as himself
- Macaila Fernandes as Girl with Cat
- Dani Hagan as Hamster Care Educator
- Johnny Maio as Boy with Guinea Pigs
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2007-08)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | U.S. air date | Australian air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Not Many Left" | June 9, 2007 | November 10, 2009 | |
| Bindi talks about animals in countries where there are not many left. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Elephants at Work" | June 9, 2007 | November 10, 2009 | |
| Bindi talks about Asian elephants, who have been the workhorses of Asia for centuries, and the role they play in today's world. Meanwhile, Steve and Wes travel to Sri Lanka and Thailand to study the elephant. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "American Beauties" | June 16, 2007 | November 11, 2009 | |
| Bindi takes a trip across the United States, with dad Steve and mum Terri, to look at some of the unusual and interesting wildlife in the U.S.. They meet elk, bighorn sheep, black bears, bison, wolves, snakes, prairie dogs and American alligators. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Cat Tracks" | June 16, 2007 | November 12, 2009 | |
| Bindi and her dad Steve go to Africa to take a closer look at lions. While Steve works with vets in South Africa to attach satellite-tracking devices to a male lion, Bindi shows off some smaller cats. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Aussie Icons" | June 23, 2007 | November 13, 2009 | |
| Bindi takes a look, with her dad Steve and mum Terri, at some of the famous animals and landmarks of Australia, including koalas, kangaroos, wombats, echidnas, possums, kookaburras and crocodiles, as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Mouthing Off" | June 23, 2007 | November 16, 2009 | |
| Dental care is important to stay alive but in the wild, animals have to live with toothaches; in captivity, however, they are given the very best dental treatment. Bindi, Wes and Terri try some dentistry of their own in the Jungle Girl's Tree House. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "Dogs R Wild" | June 30, 2007 | November 17, 2009 | |
| Bindi, Terri and Wes check out a training facility for police dogs and the domestic dog's wild cousins – African wild dogs, dingoes from Australia and Arctic wolves. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "End of the World" | June 30, 2007 | November 18, 2009 | |
| Bindi travels to a land of cold and ice as her dad Steve takes her on a journey to the end of the world – the southern tip of South America and Antarctica – where they experience the unusual wildlife that thrives in the coldest part of the world. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "Like an Eagle" | July 7, 2007 | November 19, 2009 | |
| Bindi, her dad Steve and her mum Terri explore the world of big birds like macaws, cockatoos, vultures, condors and eagles, and the role they have in the animal kingdom. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "Prince Rajah" | July 14, 2007 | November 20, 2009 | |
| Bindi shows us some of the biggest cats in the world – lions and tigers. Some tigers become part of the Australia Zoo family, while dad Steve helps an injured lion to recovery in the United States. | |||||
| 11 | 11 | "Lizard Tales" | September 8, 2007 | November 23, 2009 | |
| Bindi takes a close look at lizards of all sizes, from tiny geckos to giant Komodo dragons. | |||||
| 12 | 12 | "Saving the Whales" | October 13, 2007 | November 24, 2009 | |
| The whale population needs our help, and Bindi dives into their world to investigate their gentle and peaceful nature. | |||||
| 13 | 13 | "Animal I.C.U." | October 27, 2007 | November 25, 2009 | |
| This episode highlights the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, where each year thousands of injured animals are nursed back to health before being released back into the wild. | |||||
| 14 | 14 | "Weirdest Wildlife" | November 10, 2007 | November 26, 2009 | |
| Bindi checks out a few of the world's most unusual-looking animals, some of which look like they are made out of bits and pieces left over from other species. | |||||
| 15 | 15 | "Boots, Bags and Belts" | November 17, 2007 | November 27, 2009 | |
| Bindi and her family look into the danger to animals from poachers who kill them not for food, but to sell their body parts to be made illegally into boots, bags and belts. | |||||
| 16 | 16 | "Animals on the Move" | December 1, 2007 | November 30, 2009 | |
| Bindi's dad, Steve, helps transport reluctant animals, including some large and dangerous ones, from one place to another around the world. | |||||
| 17 | 17 | "Odd Ops" | December 8, 2007 | December 1, 2009 | |
| Bindi looks at some of the more unusual surgical operations that are performed on sick or injured animals, both in the wild and in captivity. | |||||
| 18 | 18 | "Monkey in the Jungle" | December 15, 2007 | December 2, 2009 | |
| Bindi looks at the differences between different types of primates – many of which are in big trouble. | |||||
| 19 | 19 | "Crocodilians" | January 12, 2008 | December 3, 2009 | |
| Bindi teaches us about a species of living dinosaur called crocodilians. | |||||
| 20 | 20 | "Treehouse Sleepover" | February 9, 2008 | December 14, 2009 | |
| Bindi has her best friend Rosie and The Crocmen join her for a sleepover in her treehouse. | |||||
| 21 | 21 | "Poached Eggs" | March 1, 2008 | December 4, 2009 | |
| Bindi looks at two kinds of poachers – animals and humans. | |||||
| 22 | 22 | "Snake in the Grass" | April 5, 2008 | December 7, 2009 | |
| Bindi profiles both venomous and harmless snakes. | |||||
| 23 | 23 | "Ocean's Ten" | April 19, 2008 | December 8, 2009 | |
| Bindi counts down the ten most interesting creatures of the sea. | |||||
| 24 | 24 | "Animal Mysteries" | May 3, 2008 | December 9, 2009 | |
| Strange and interesting cases of animals including acupuncture on Asian elephants, animal instincts before a tsunami, and the hibernation of bears. | |||||
| 25 | 25 | "Devil Island" | May 17, 2008 | December 10, 2009 | |
| An epidemic could wipe out the entire population of Tasmanian devils. | |||||
| 26 | 26 | "How Old Are They?" | May 31, 2008 | December 11, 2009 | |
| Bindi investigates how long animals live in the wild compared to captivity. | |||||
Season 2 (2008)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | U.S. air date | Australian air date | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "American Road Trip" | September 27, 2008 | November 2, 2009 | |||||
| Bindi explores the desert states of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. | |||||||||
| 28 | 2 | "Desert Highway" | October 4, 2008 | November 3, 2009 | |||||
| Bindi continues her desert travels to Southern California and the Mojave Desert. | |||||||||
| 29 | 3 | "Indonesian Safari" | October 11, 2008 | November 4, 2009 | |||||
| Bindi takes a wildlife and cultural tour of Indonesia. | |||||||||
| 30 | 4 | "Tigers on a Plane" | October 18, 2008 | November 5, 2009 | |||||
| Bindi visits the Taman Safari Park in Jakarta where they have started a special breeding program to save endangered tigers. | |||||||||
| 31 | 5 | "Treehouse Idol" | October 25, 2008 | November 6, 2009 | |||||
| Bindi's treehouse is transformed into a dance studio for the finals of the Treehouse Idol competition. | |||||||||
| 32 | 6 | "Vegas to LA" | December 20, 2008 | — | |||||
| 33 | 7 | ||||||||
| On this adventure, Bindi travels famous Route 66 on a road trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. | |||||||||
Related special
The series was introduced along with Bindi Irwin's first solo television program, My Daddy, the Crocodile Hunter, a documentary/memorial of Steve Irwin that aired on Animal Planet. It also talked about Bindi and her blooming career.
Merchandise
Australia Zoo produce an extensive range of Bindi merchandise including Bindi dolls, bracelets, stickers and clothes.
Bindi Wear is an exclusive range of children's clothes designed by Melanie Berry and Palmina Distasi. The clothing range features a collection of shirts, shorts, skirts and accessories for young girls and boys. The Bindi Wear concept is developed and managed by Steve's sister, Joy Muscillo.
Bindi Wear International is a range of apparel, footwear and accessories designed for children up to the age of 10 years. Designers, The 3 Monsters, have worked closely with Australia Zoo to ensure the clothing range upholds the Irwin's strong conservation beliefs and values.
DVD releases
The complete series has been released by ABC (Australia) on PAL Region 4 DVD.
| DVD Name | Episodes | Australian Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 Episodes 1-4 |
Not Many Left Elephants at Work American Beauties Cat Tracks |
3 October 2007 |
| Volume 2 Episodes 5-8 |
Aussie Icons Mouthing Off Dogs R Wild End of the World |
3 April 2008 |
| Roar! Episodes 9-12 |
Like an Eagle Prince Rajah Lizard Tales Saving the Whales |
7 August 2008 |
| Chill Out Episodes 13-16 |
Animal I.C.U Weirdest Wildlife Boots, Bags and Belts Animals on the Move |
6 November 2008 |
| Jungle Fever Episodes 17-20 |
Odd Ops Monkey in the Jungle Crocodilians Poached Eggs |
2 April 2009 |
| Wildlife Detective Episodes 21-26 |
Snake in the Grass Ocean's Ten Animal Mysteries Devil Island How Old Are They? Treehouse Sleepover |
2 July 2009 |
| Road Trip Episodes 27-31 |
American Road Trip Desert Highway Indonesian Safari Tigers on a Plane Treehouse Idol |
5 November 2009 |
References
- ↑ "Bindi the Jungle Girl (2007)". AllMovie.
- ↑ Freeman-Greene, Suzy: Despite the facts, Steve Irwin is still alive for Bindi's fans, The Age, 14 July 2008.